Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Just Conjecturin', Volume 34: Behind the IDS Closing -- Olman Rimola vs. Paul Leggett

This one is smoking hot, and points at some of the real reasons that the IDS offices in Costa Rica (the customer support centers for Absolute Poker and UB.com) have closed.

The following is a Spanish-language memo to all the CR workers, followed what can only be described as a mind-bending exchange between Paul Leggett and Olman Rimola, operational head of the Costa Rica IDS office. I will re-sort the latter section into a top-to-bottom, chronological order. It's almost too much too grasp in a single reading. English version is lower down:


* * * * *

Date: Tue, May 3, 2011 11:36 am
To: allcr@idscr.com
Priority: Normal

Estimados compaÒeros:

Desde que el problema legal de AP/UB fue de mi conocimiento, he estado tratando de lograr el pago de las prestaciones de todos los empleados de IDS por parte de las compaÒÌas cuestionadas.

Como ustedes saben, esta operaciÛn la controlan varios extranjeros, algunos de ellos ubicados en IDS y yo no tengo participaciÛn en la toma de decisiones. Me limito a seguir instrucciones.

La semana pasada, como pueden ver en este correo, ejercÌ la presiÛn m·xima para lograr el pago de sus prestaciones laborales, tal y como por derecho les corresponde.

Ellos en ning˙n momento me han depositado el dinero de las prestaciones ni los gastos de planilla de mayo. Yo los perseguirÈ con el fin de lograr este objetivo, para lo cual acudirÈ a las autoridades de los Estados Unidos y de Costa Rica seg˙n corresponda.

Es deseo de esta gente seguir con su cuestionada operaciÛn en otro lado y dejarnos guindando. Al punto en que han liquidado y recontratado a los empleados directos de Brent en Escaz˙ y los de TBT.

TambiÈn pueden leer en el email que les di tiempo hasta hoy a las 12 de la noche para resolver esta situaciÛn. En caso de que insistan en su incumplimiento, los invito a unirse a este movimiento que hoy encabezo para lograr que se haga justicia. Y si tienen alguna prueba que aportar que apoye la acusaciÛn que se est· tramitando, por favor, (redacted) saber para conducirla a la embajada de los Estados Unidos. Sigo en contacto por esta vÌa.

Lamento toda esta situaciÛn y le pido a Dios guÌa y consejo para poder salir delante.

Olman RÌmola

--

Alejandro "hdbets" translated this for English readers as follows:

Dear Colleagues:

Ever since i learned about AP/UB legal issues i have been trying to obtain payment for the labor benefits of all IDS employees from these companies.

As you know this operation is controlled by several foreigners, some of them inside IDS and I don’t have any saying in decision making, I limit myself to following orders.

As you see on this email, last week i put maximum pressure on them, in order to obtain payment for the labor benefits you are entitled by law.

They have NOT deposited the money for these payments nor that for May payroll and expenses. Ill pursue them in order to achieve this, for which I’ll contact both US and Costa Rica authorities as needed.

This people intend to continue with their questionable operation somewhere else and leave us hanging, this has gone to the point of liquidate and then rehire both Brent’s employees at Escazú ( an exclusive neighborhood in San Jose, Costa Rica) and those from TBT.

As you can read on the email I have given them until 12AM tonight to solve this situation, in case they continue to ignore us and breach their contract I invite you to join this movement I’m leading to help us get justice. If you have any evidence to share that could support our case, please let me know so I can see that It gets to the US embassy, ill keep in touch via email.

I deeply regret this whole situation, and i ask God for guidance to be able to get through this.

Olman Rimola



* * * * *

(Date: Sometime last week, possibly very early on 4/29)

> Hi Paul,
>
> The company always has deposited IDS operational expenses.
> The liquidation for all IDS employees is USD$2,750,000.
> This amount has not been deposited yet into IDS bank account.

> If next Tuesday, May 3rd, this amount has not been deposited in IDS bank
> account, I will face all IDS employees and I will explain this situation.
> After that, I will go to the US Embassy and I will contact FBI agents,
> who are right now in Costa Rica, and I will reveal all the information I
> have of Absolute Poker and UltimateBet operations, including full detail of
> original shareholders, corporate structure, processing procedures, all
> related companies, lawyers, executives, bank statements, bank wires,
> emails and instructions I have received, etc.
> FBI will be more than glad in to grant me immunity exchanging this
> information.

> Just a reminder, if anything happens to me, or people close to me, I
> have prepared 3 sets of this information which are in hands of 3 different
> lawyers, with instructions to proceed with US Embassy and Costa Rican
> authorities.

> I feel sorry about ending our relationship like this way, but my IDS
> employees are first.
> Best regards,
>
> Olman RÌmola
>

* * * * *


Hi Olman,

I am shocked by the content of your email as it contradicts everything
that you said in the meeting earlier this week.

Can you please send me the detailed list of IDS liquidations so I can
discuss this with Stuart Gordon? Once I have met with Stuart, I would be
open to another meeting with you.

Paul


* * * * *


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Re: IDS employees liquidations
From: Olman RÌmola Castillo
Date: Fri, April 29, 2011 11:28 am
To: "Paul Leggett"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul, there is nothing to discuss here, that is the amount.
I know you will continue the operation elsewhere, make it easier for you.
Next Tuesday, I will close IDS; if you send the money the closing down
will be done without any problem. If you do not send the money I will
proceed as I mentioned before.
And if you try to misinform or slander me with my employees, I will
proceed too.
I am very serious this time.
Clock is ticking, don't waste your time...

21 comments:

RGC2005 said...

Holy rats fleeing the ship Batman.
Good stuff and great find.

Anonymous said...

The worlds most blackmailed company.Good to see it go down the tubes.

Grim said...

Serious props to Olman for how he's handling this. It took guts to wage war against these shady bastards, and it seems he's got both the resolve and the smarts to get it done.

Jason D said...

These are old news, like 4 days ago. I live in CR, my gf works for them and Cereus already paid all that was due to their employees. They will continue with a smaller operation focused on countries where to play poker online is logically legal

Anonymous said...

I'm not defending one part or another but I know from a good source that IDS had already deposit long time ago a lot of Money to prevent this issue.

Local Police should investigate Rimola ass too.

I just wish to know from where Rimola took all that money to finance he's own Mayor Political campaign and finance Otto's

Guevara Presidential Campaign, have a charity foundation, paid a Bodyguards staff, houses , Company's, The Court should Investigate Olman's Rimola Backgrounds and see how he make to donate, Invest, own , I will be very very bad to know that money from workers was used to have a millionaire life style and expend money in useless political campaigns.
As Olman would said "In God we Trust"

Anonymous said...

LOL at the last poster..who obviously works for AP or someone associated with them. I know know taht for a fact from a "good source". I also heard from a "good source" that drinking bleach cures rectal cancer and my "good source" also told me that donkeys can actually fly.

Haley said...

I think a couple of recent comments have been been pretty funny, but I'm a free-speech beliver, and I'm willing to allow stuff in the comments that I don't personally agree with as long as it's not personally attacking.

I have it on good authority that IDS did in fact receive the $2.75 million some time on 5/3 (unknown to me when I posted this), but the poster complaining that this post is "old news" is utterly missing the point. That point: Absolute Poker is the type of company in which threatening to run to the authorities to get something done is... status quo.

I don't think my post had anything to do with the raids in Costa Rica today, but there's also a little part of me that hopes that maybe the OIJ and the FBI were checking in and added this memo to whatever they needed to do to authorize those raids. It's kind of sad, though, that it's fallen to this level.

Olman Rimola is not a saint, contrary to some posts on a major poker forum that want to declare him a hero. But that can wait until another post. Let's see what happens with today's events first.

lightning36 said...

Great read, Haley. Nothing will surprise me anymore.


Word Verification: facke

he he he

Anonymous said...

Otto Guevara and Olman Rimola, as private love couple and business partner have "wisely" distributed the money you will "missing" and looking for in the empty IDS arces tomorrow...
Otto gets a new Lover financing his Ego-Political-Third-World-Trip and Olman will find tons of new "Male" friends in his home country prison, if FBI/IRS/DEA not wanting him too.

aaron w said...

DOC31...i have some very usefull information haley-scott..this relates to ip configuration and microsoft 2nd rate privalage log on identity theft..Also from what i gather fulltilt are running in the same boat..not being funnny but since the commission banned me I shall in due course be seeking legal recourse over the funds of which i had deposited over the past 5 years..they said Scott tom had nothing to do with the company yet hes the man in charge so say DOJ.And another thing another super user who hasnt been bought to light is JOSH CHINCHILLA, he has admin account that is set up to play on absolute poker servers.
I have external harddrives to prove my hand historys too.

aaron watson said...

haley whats going on with my post u going to edit it in or do i get scott bell to do it?? either way its gonna get known regards aaron doc31

Haley said...

Aaron,

I don't mind posting your comments, but the onus remains on you to provide hard evidence, and not just say you've got this and that and the next.

aaron watson said...

haley i think u willl find im an honest person in all of this.!..

have had someone tell me that also mickey who was in charge of kgc was in favour of absolute poker and was looking after those interests of the company and not the players ..If you want the proof on the josh chinchilla account i can provide no problem. I can also state for the record in the t&c set out in the absolute poker policy that no staff -user acounts should be allowed, obvs this is not the case regardless whether they are fun money accounts or not!......

Jason D said...

Hey Haley, I absolutely get the point but I just wanted to show the truth that's happening here at CR. I have no other interest in this but a regular poker player interest. But we have to say what's right and that is Cereus followed the rules accordingly when it comes to severance payments and all that. They might be pointed for many mistakes but this is certainly not one of them. And sorry for the 'old news' thingy, they were old for us, for days :)

Haley said...

Aaron, I'm not going to publish the "JOSH CHINCHILLA" e-mail you sent me because that's just silly. So that name was attached to some refer-a-friend e-mail you got. That was spam. I don't know how that is supposed to connect to your proof of insider cheating, because that alone does not.

Haley said...

Jason,

Are you claiming that because Leggett and friends paid the $2.75 million under threat of exposure, that they then should be congratulated? I don't think so. I'm glad your girlfriend got her severance pay but her big bosses were and are corrupt, and you should check the latest Blanca Games PR regarding Rimola if you think that payment was done willingly.

The "like four days" thing you wrote was silly, too. The internal memo I published was dated 5/3, and I published it all on 5/4. That's one day, not four.

mario said...

All IDS employees in CR are waiting for the money about liquidation month, and they don't have the money, I belive that they were cheated for UB and AP.

MVC said...

Hey Haley
Hope you are doing well , first i would lke to introduce myself im costarican and i worked for IDS for about 5 years in the security department of absolute poker and ultimate bet , also i would like to add that the poster jason doest have a clue of whats going on, more than 300 employees from ids including myself are still waiting for their money.

Haley said...

You're the second former IDS worker in the last 48 hours to report this lingering nonpayment, and yes, I agree that "Jason" was full of it, but as long as the comments aren't abusive I usually let them stand.

I find it unsurprising if true, considering that both Scott Tom and Brent Beckley are still at large. Rumored locales for them include Panama and Brazil.

B. Jack said...

I am glad your girlfriend got her severance pay but her big bosses were and are corrupt, and you should check the latest Blanca Games PR regarding Rimola if you think that payment was done willingly.

Online said...

great post Haley.